The Clearing: Group Three

Please pick a group for yourself and stick with it for two months. Once you decide which group you belong to, don't attempt to follow advice for other groups at the same time, as you will have too much to do. If you are not sure which group you should join, start with the lower numbers as they include introductions to the concepts of later groups.

You may sometimes think that you could have achieved more in one week, but don't assume this means that the programme isn't going at your pace. If you find you have achieved everything I mentioned for a particular week, find a way of adapting the same theme somewhere else in your home or your life. We have to go slowly, because you have other things going on in your life and if you have a few days where you feel overwhelmed, you may well decide to ditch the de-clutter programme first. This is why we are going to take it slow.

Also, the key to continued success is to get into the habit of doing it, not to have a de-cluttering frenzy several times a year!

Remember to only do what you feel you are able - don't try to pressure yourself to achieve objectives in any way. In the end, you will only be fighting yourself, as we will be re-visiting these topics in later cycles and you will find that you can do a little more each time. If you are finding things tough, just try to do one thing. As long as you do more than nothing, you can achieve your goals.

So, are you ready for Week One of the De-Cluttering Plan? (The required response is: "Yes, Wendy!" laughs)

Preparation

This week we are going to find out who in the household wants to help out, what needs doing, and how you feel about the whole idea of de-cluttering your house and/or your life. Remember, when you are prioritising items/ideas, there is a different between 'urgent' and 'important'. Think about what this means to you.

I have a little exercise for you and it will take about 5-10 minutes. Please try to do it, as I am sure you will find it surprisingly useful.

Sit in a quiet room where you won't be distracted. Take a pen and paper (not a keyboard and monitor - it has to be hand-written for best results), and then take a deep breath. If you don't write very often these days, do a little exercise to loosen up the joints in your hands. If you meditate, pray or use any relaxation techniques, it would be helpful to find a moment of calmness and reflection before you begin.

Write down the following (in your own words): The main areas of my life where I could do with some help are... and keep writing. Don't pause. Not once! Keep writing until you have filled the page with words. Don't think to hard about what you are writing either - you may find that your mind wanders on to another topic and that's fine - still complete the exercise and then try again when you are ready to focus another time. Don't worry about your handwriting, as only you will read it.

This exercise is widely used to help people get their thoughts down on paper. Perhaps you will write about time management - maybe you are always late paying your bills, or you take on too much work? There are many possibilities. Because of this, it would be extremely useful if you could contact me either on- or off-list with a rough idea (you can be extremely vague if you want to be) of what came out of the exercise, so that I can ensure I am catering for your needs in future weeks. If the topics are not to do with time management, or de-cluttering your life, that is fine as I suspect we will broaden the area to encompass other personal competences (such as 'empowerment') when we move your group to a separate list sometime in the future.

I suggest you pick a specific day of the week to:

Look at what you achieved during the previous week (refer back to your journals - they are there you remind you how far you have come!) and pat yourself on the back! Even if you only filed one piece of paper - if that was one piece more than you did last year, you have improved the situation!

Review what is left to be done, and check that no new clutter has appeared!

Even if you don't do anything for the rest of the week, knowing that you have a De-Clutter Day (or even just an hour!), at the same time every week, will help you to get into the habit of thinking about your clutter on a
regular basis.

Back to the Educationsense Home Page	This part of the Educationsense site was developed alongside my HE Clutter discussion list. We always welcome new subscribers!	Back to The Clearing
	"We have nothing to lose except our clutter!" Here is this week's Plan from the de-cluttering programme. If you are new to the de-cluttering programme, and would like to join in, please go here instead. If you would like to begin the second cycle, please contact me or join the discussion list. Everything will shortly be available online. General information about this weeks' plan can be found here. The theme for this week is: "Preparation". *IMPORTANT MESSAGE: In order to have a weekly Plan e-mailed to you, please set your preferences here.* Group Three is for people who want to prioritise time management, de-cluttering their lives, etc. Please pick a group for yourself and stick with it for two months. Once you decide which group you belong to, don't attempt to follow advice for other groups at the same time, as you will have too much to do. If you are not sure which group you should join, start with the lower numbers as they include introductions to the concepts of later groups. You may sometimes think that you could have achieved more in one week, but don't assume this means that the programme isn't going at your pace. If you find you have achieved everything I mentioned for a particular week, find a way of adapting the same theme somewhere else in your home or your life. We have to go slowly, because you have other things going on in your life and if you have a few days where you feel overwhelmed, you may well decide to ditch the de-clutter programme first. This is why we are going to take it slow. Also, the key to continued success is to get into the habit of doing it, not to have a de-cluttering frenzy several times a year! Remember to only do what you feel you are able - don't try to pressure yourself to achieve objectives in any way. In the end, you will only be fighting yourself, as we will be re-visiting these topics in later cycles and you will find that you can do a little more each time. If you are finding things tough, just try to do one thing. As long as you do more than nothing, you can achieve your goals. So, are you ready for Week One of the De-Cluttering Plan? (The required response is: "Yes, Wendy!" laughs) Preparation This week we are going to find out who in the household wants to help out, what needs doing, and how you feel about the whole idea of de-cluttering your house and/or your life. Remember, when you are prioritising items/ideas, there is a different between 'urgent' and 'important'. Think about what this means to you. I have a little exercise for you and it will take about 5-10 minutes. Please try to do it, as I am sure you will find it surprisingly useful. Sit in a quiet room where you won't be distracted. Take a pen and paper (not a keyboard and monitor - it has to be hand-written for best results), and then take a deep breath. If you don't write very often these days, do a little exercise to loosen up the joints in your hands. If you meditate, pray or use any relaxation techniques, it would be helpful to find a moment of calmness and reflection before you begin. Write down the following (in your own words): The main areas of my life where I could do with some help are... and keep writing. Don't pause. Not once! Keep writing until you have filled the page with words. Don't think to hard about what you are writing either - you may find that your mind wanders on to another topic and that's fine - still complete the exercise and then try again when you are ready to focus another time. Don't worry about your handwriting, as only you will read it. This exercise is widely used to help people get their thoughts down on paper. Perhaps you will write about time management - maybe you are always late paying your bills, or you take on too much work? There are many possibilities. Because of this, it would be extremely useful if you could contact me either on- or off-list with a rough idea (you can be extremely vague if you want to be) of what came out of the exercise, so that I can ensure I am catering for your needs in future weeks. If the topics are not to do with time management, or de-cluttering your life, that is fine as I suspect we will broaden the area to encompass other personal competences (such as 'empowerment') when we move your group to a separate list sometime in the future. I suggest you pick a specific day of the week to: Look at what you achieved during the previous week (refer back to your journals - they are there you remind you how far you have come!) and pat yourself on the back! Even if you only filed one piece of paper - if that was one piece more than you did last year, you have improved the situation! Review what is left to be done, and check that no new clutter has appeared! Even if you don't do anything for the rest of the week, knowing that you have a De-Clutter Day (or even just an hour!), at the same time every week, will help you to get into the habit of thinking about your clutter on a regular basis. As always, I welcome your feedback because it helps me to come up with new ideas and solutions for you. Good luck everyone, and DO try this at home! Wendy.
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